Manuel Mendoza: My first year at Harvard

EAST CHICAGO | The journey of pursuing a higher education is unique for every individual; some people decide to stay close to home, others decide to go as far away from home as possible. I'd have to say I fit in with the ladder category. During the previous academic school year, I completed my first year of college at none other than Harvard University. College is much different that high school, however, the experiences I had throughout my freshman year have definitely made an impression on me.

I remember the first few days I spent at Harvard participating in a pre-orientation program called Spring Clean-Up with Harvard's Dorm Crew. The objective was simple: clean the 17 freshman dorms and 12 upperclassmen houses within about 5 days of hard, grueling work. Nonetheless, I walked onto the campus that first day extremely timid, thinking to myself "I don't belong here!" Much like many people, I had stereotypical thoughts of Harvard - all the students were going to be rich, privileged, and uptight and that the school itself would lack any real diversity. I quickly learned all of these thoughts were wrong. On August 19, 2010, my first day away from home and at Harvard, I met students from all over the globe, countries like Jamaica, Kenya, China, Swaziland, Poland, England, Mexico, Peru, and Germany and each of these students were some of the most down-to-earth people I had ever met in my life. In fact, some of them became my closest friends at school!

Over the first week I spent at Harvard, I was pleasantly surprised to have met students with similar upbringing to mine. Not everyone's parents were doctors and lawyers, and not everyone came from mansions. This may have been my biggest reservation about going to school in Cambridge, and I must say I am glad that this was farthest from the truth as possible.

Soon after Dorm Crew ended, classes started. I approached my first few days of class with excitement and trepidation. Harvard classes have a reputation of being impossibly difficult, and while I was excited for the challenge, I was worried I wasn't prepared to handle the level of work that was soon going to be thrown at me. Indeed, I am no longer the smartest person in the classroom, however, instead of letting this throw me off course, I used it as a means of motivation. No doubt, the workload is heavier than it was in high school, the reading larger, and the deadlines shorter, yet just like any college student does, I adapted to that change and worked to my highest potential.

One perk Harvard student's have is deciding what classes to take. At Harvard, the only mandatory class for freshmen is an expository writing class. There are certain other requirements for graduation, but there are four long years during which I can get those out of the way. In fact, I was able to take virtually any class I wanted during my freshman year without somebody telling me no! The class variety at Harvard is amazing. Going through Harvard's "Q-Quide", or course catalogue, to try to fill my four empty schedule slots was like walking into a candy store with only $1 in my pocket. Everything looks so good, and I'd like to try it all, but I've only got a dollar to spend. How do I decide? Thankfully, Harvard allows me the opportunity to sample all the candy (or at least a reasonable portion of it) before deciding which ones I really want.

Harvard offers its students the chance to sample any classes you want during "Shopping Week." During the first official week of class, students can go to as many classes as they please to sit in on lectures and determine if a class is right for them. During this week, classes meet at their regularly scheduled time and ultimately, if you decide to take a course, you are held responsible for any work you missed during the week. Hence, I don't register for classes until the last day of the first week of class!!!

The special perks of being a Harvard student don't stop there. During the year, I met several celebrities and famous people. Throughout the course of the year, I met Shaquille O'Neal, D. Woods of Danity Kane, a former director of the CIA, saw Pauly D. from Jersey Shore, saw Tony Blair, and my personal favorite, got a handshake, hug, and kiss on the check from the beautiful Colombian singer Shakira!

I have learned so many things after my first year at Harvard and I wouldn't trade the experiences I have gathered as a result for anything! I encourage any student from Northwest Indiana to apply to Harvard and to share in the wonderful opportunities Harvard has to offer!

Manuel Mendoza | Harvard University Class of 2014